Thumbelina...YYH-Style
by Chibiko1
Summary: Chapter 5 up!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: I do not own YYH and it is a high possibility that you don't either.  
  
Author's Notes: Ok... this is my first fanfic so there's bound to be lots of room for   
improvement. Please review or email your opinions to me...   
onegai!! ^_^   
Ideas and constructive criticism are welcomed; flames will be   
laughed at.  
* Dialogue is in "..."  
* Thoughts are in Italics  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Once upon a time, in some dark, obscure part of Makai, There lived a lady named Mukuro.  
She was a (rarely) nice, gentle (when she's not kicking youkai butt) and (never) mild-mannered woman who lived in a nice, cheerful, little... fortress. -_-;;  
She had almost everything she wanted but was not content, for there was one thing she greatly desired and which she did not have: she wanted a child. In those days, it was customary for rulers of the Makai to appoint a successor and Mukuro simply could not trust any of her subordinates. For all she knew, her heir may just decide to overthrow her in his/her eagerness to ascend the throne... a child of her own would definitely be less treacherous and easier to control. But alas! She had none. (Mainly because she had no mate in the first place.)  
Of course, she did not wallow in self-pity; the relative peace in Makai would be shattered if the three rulers of Makai did not maintain the delicate balance of power between them. So she set out to pay a visit to the famous fairy Botan who had the ability of blessing women with children. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

          _At least it doesn't look dangerous, _Mukuro thought to herself as she stood outside the cheerful little cottage, surrounded by peonies.

          A cheerful voice called out an invitation to enter and she stepped in… and stared. And stared. And stared some more at the blue-haired girl who was frantically trying to rescue the charred remains of **something** from her oven… Mukuro sweatdropped.

          "Oh, hi!" Botan chirped a bit breathlessly. "Please take a seat, I'll be with you shor—AHHHH!!!" She broke off mid-sentence as the toaster groaned and burst into flames. "Oh noooo~~!" Botan wailed and immediately tried to beat out the fire – with a **dry** rag, which started burning merrily. Instinctively, the blue-haired girl flung the rag away from her , then groaned as it sailed in a perfect arc towards the general direction of her pretty lavender curtains.

          Mukuro decided to intervene, after all a fried fairy would hardly solve her problem. She snatched the burning rag out of mid-air with her metallic hand, doused it in the sink and calmly poured a half-drunk glass of lemonade on the toaster.

*~*~*  

          "A child?" Botan shifted nervously on the couch. Not everyone would get the opportunity of having a visit from one of the Makai rulers.

          "Yes," Mukuro replied. "I don't care what gender it is as long as I get a heir."

          Botan tapped her nose thoughtfully. "Well, I **could** bake an enchanted cookie and you'll get pregnant after eating it. How about that?"

          Mukuro turned to look meaningfully at the ruined kitchen, glaring specifically at the forlorn remains of the toaster… Botan winced. "I guess not…"

          Mukuro snorted, **she** wouldn't have wanted to become pregnant anyway.

          "I know!" Botan beamed. " I could give you a seed!"

          "A…**SEED**?!" Mukuro glared. _The fairy couldn't tell the difference between a child and a seed?!_

          "NO! I-mean-that-you-could-plant-the-seed-and-nurture-it-and-when-it-blooms-a-child-that-is-both-physically-and-mentally-mature-would-emerge-from-the-flower!" Botan explained hastily, nervously noting the sudden rise of youki.

          _Huh? _Mukuro blinked, this was the weirdest thing she'd ever heard of. _But then, this _**is** _the Makai and I _**am**_ talking to a fairy…_

          "Fine," she snapped. "I'll take it." She prepared to leave.

          "Wait!" Cried the fairy. "There is a drawback. The child will only be as tall as your thumb because that's the maximum weight the flower can hold," Botan warned.

          Mukuro choked. "NANI?!?!"Now **this** was bad news. She had planned to raise the child to become an awe-inspiring figure of at least 170cm tall. But… a ruler of 1/3 of the Makai, who is as tall as her **thumb**?! 

          Botan gulped as she felt the rising of Mukuro's youki again. _This is so _**not**__

   _my day… _Mukuro glared at the poor fairy.

          "Tell me," she said in an even voice, a sharp contrast to her wildly fluctuating youki. "Will he… she… **it**… at least be able to become a S-Class youkai if trained?" The fairy nodded vigorously. 

          _Okay, at least the most important issue is taken care of…_

          Mukuro frowned, she had not expected this turn of events. How could a three-inch-tall youkai rule the Makai?! _…wait. In the Makai, power means everything, the kid should be able to make up for its stature _(or rather the lack of it)_ with a high youki level. And being tiny means that he or she would not be easily noticed by his or her enemies, a great advantage in battle. Hell, I could even have the kid do some infiltration and spying for me!_

Mukuro grinned evilly and Botan, who had nearly sagged in relief at the fall in youki was suddenly again in a state of agitation.

          "I accept," Mukuro said lightly. "Thank you for your assistance."

          She left clutching the precious seed, still plotting and cackling… the door slammed shut and Botan fainted with relief.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's notes: I'm writing this parody based on a seriously abridged version 

                       of Thumbelina which I used to read waaaay back when I was 

             a kid -_-;; So some of the details might have been left out…     

             (after all, the book is only 27 pgs thick) Please email me if I  

             miss out some parts of the story… THANX!!

Chapter 3

The next day…

          "I want an explanation," Mukuro grated through clenched teeth. "I woke up early this morning at 9.30 a.m. (early? How so? +_+) just to look at my heir. But **why** did I find a pot of **soil**?!"

          The unfortunate youkai cowered on the floor. "B-but… M-mukuro-sama… I just planted the seed yesterday evening!"

          Mukuro frowned, momentarily nonplussed. "So? Wasn't it supposed to bloom overnight or something like that?"

          The gardener sweatdropped as he reflected unhappily that Her Highness really did **not** know much about botany. 

          "Mukuro-sama, please be a bit more patient… I've already provided the seed with the best Makai Gardening Soil, the strongest fertilizers available and the cleanest water in our kingdom; even the **pot** used is a work of art worth $1,000,000—" 

          "Then give it more water!"

"B-but, Mkuro-sama, you j-just **flooded the whole pot—"**

"Fine, now **SHUTTUP**."

"……"   

Mukuro gave a frustrated growl; patience was **not** one of her virtues. _But for my heir, I will wait._

"Look," she snapped. "I shall be lenient this time. I don't care how the hell you do it, but I want to see my heir in three days time."    

The poor youkai choked. _Three… _**days**_?! Three days for the seed to germinate and grow and mature _**and**_ bloom? _He broke into uncontrollable sobbing. 

Mukuro glared. "Now **scram.**"

Tripping over his feet and weeping buckets of tears, the youkai scrammed.

*~*

Three days later…

          Mukuro waited as patiently as she could (i.e. extremely impatiently) by the pot. By that time, the tiny seed had grown into a healthy tulip plant (not surprising since the youkai gardener had gone through great pains to provided the seed with even better growing conditions, including feeding it youki) with a bud balanced on a delicate stem. However, the plant was… shall we say… strangely coloured -_-;; (The colour of tulips are not normally a red so dark it seemed to be black.)

          "Kuso! Just **when** will this damned flower bloom?!" 

Mukuro shot a baleful glare at the tulip, which rustled nervously. Impulsively, she reached for the phone and dialed Botan's number.

"Moshi-moshi!" Came the cheerful voice from the other end.

"**FAIRY**! Where the hell is my heir?!"

"Eh~?! But… you have to wait for the plant to grow—"     

"It **is **grown, dammit!"

"……is it possible for a plant to grow that fast?"

"I want my money back!"

"B-but, Mukuro-sama, you didn't pay for it in the first place!"

"…well, that's not the point. How do I get the stupid tulip to bloom?"

"Um, well, you hafta kiss the bud—"

"**WHAT**?! I'm **not a pervert**!!"

"The flower won't bloom unless you do that…"

"And why the @%$#* is that so?!"

"Because that's what the instruction manual says!"

"……" 

Mukuro sweatdropped, but decided not to ask. Instead, she crushed the phone into a fine powder and turned to the tulip, which gave a nervous rustle.

She turned to check if anyone was watching, then took a deep breath and leaned towards the plant – which gave a frightened rustle, somehow swiveled to avoid her lips and burst into full bloom!

          Mukuro blinked at this unexpected outcome of events… then took a sharp breath and held it as she noticed a tiny form huddled within the beautiful petals of the flower.          


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

          Mukuro tiptoed (Heh… imagine Mukuro tiptoeing…) towards the sleeping figure. Sunlight streamed in from the window and lit upon the tulip while birds sang on the windowsill… Mukuro was half-expecting chibi angels to appear and start singing. 

          The atmosphere was ruined when the tiny youkai in the flower gave an irritated grunt and silenced the birds with a snarl, before tugging a petal over his head to hide from the sunlight.   

                   Mukuro grinned at the sight of the frightened birds. _Just the attitude I want my heir to have – a bad one. _(Be careful what you wish for…)

She tapped the stem.

"Wake up kid, we have lots to do. Let's start off by having you pay homage to **me**, your benevolent mother!"(Um, did she contribute in any way besides getting the seed?)

Silence.

Mukuro frowned and poked the flower.

"Wake up, dammit, I haven't even seen your face yet!"

**Silence**.

She poked her finger inside the flower and tried to feel around for the tiny figure…

"ITAAAAI~!!!"

Mukuro yanked her hand back and stared in total disbelief at the tiny teeth marks on her index finger. There were two deeper indentations, which she presumed were made by tiny fangs and those were actually oozing **blood**.

Disbelief quickly changed to fury as she directed a malevolent glare at the flower and its current occupant. _The little bastard _**bit** _ME?!_ _Screw Makai politics, I'm sending him into orbit._

She advanced on the tulip menacingly (Mukuro facing off a plant… how inspiring) and sent the flower flying with a contemptuous flick of her wrist. Petals, leaves and a tiny youkai flew through the air as Mukuro idly noted that the kid was a he.    

          "What the @!$*% ?!?!?!?"

          The tiny youkai had a surprisingly loud voice.

          Grinning sadistically, Mukuro prepared to crush the naked (well, this is not my fault… if you don't like it, go after Mr Andersen. If you like it, go ahead and drool) little youkai… who jumped to his feet, snarled and lifted his head to glare at her with defiant blood-red eyes, totally undeterred by his nakedness or the fact that Mukuro towered over him like the Eiffel Tower. (Not that he would know what the Eiffel Tower is @_@)

          Mukuro blinked at this (admittedly slightly stupid) show of courage and decided to postpone the destruction of her heir. Smirking, she deliberately raised her youki to an intimidating level and returned the little demon's glare.

          "I'm Mukuro, one the rulers of Makai." 

She watched the youkai closely to detect the smallest reaction. There was none.

          "I intend to train you to become my heir."

          "Hn," the youkai grunted, his face impassive.

          _Yes, that's it; hide your emotions. You have greater potential than I expected. _

          Mukuro mentally cancelled her original plan to pulverize the demon, then squatted down and offered her palm.

          "Come on, I want to take a closer look at you."

          The tiny youkai glared at her with intense red eyes, then shrugged and hopped on. Mukuro lifted him to eye-level, taking in the spiky hair, button nose and almond-shaped eyes. _What do you know? My kid turned out to be quite cute._

She noted the jagan with some surprise, but decided to treat it as a bonus. She lifted an eyebrow thoughtfully at her heir after wrapping him in a handkerchief for decency's sake.

          "Well, I suppose I'll have to name you. But I've only thought of a girl's name, so you'll just have to deal with it."

          The (very) little fire demon finally spoke. (Actually, he roared.)

          "**_NANI?!_**" 

Tendrils of smoke rose as the hanky started smouldering.

"From now on," Mukuro continued as if she hadn't noticed the outburst. "Thou shalt be known as Thunbelina!" (What's the deal with the Old English -_-;;)

There was a soft, barely noticeable thud as her heir fainted.

Chibiko: Hiei has always been short… Not that I'm complaining; short is cute. But  

            now he's TINY!!!!! MWAHAHAHA!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

          Hiei pulled his katana from the dead Makai beast. 

_Five down, three more to go._

          Briefly, he wondered how Mukuro's soldiers managed to capture the ferocious beasts alive **and **lock them in one of her training arenas. Come to think of it, he did hear some panicked screaming last night… The fire demon decided that it was none of his business.

          One of the creatures leapt at the tiny black-clad figure and Hiei flitted out of sight to land on its head. The katana was driven through the beast's skull along with a bored sigh.

          Secretly, he was sick of this routine. For the past few months his life had revolved around training, sleeping… _And why in the three worlds do I have to clean _**her **_personal chambers?! Those damned servants are employed for a reason!_

          He took out his frustration by incinerating another one of the Makai beasts.

          "Che. This is endless."

*~*

          Safe behind a kekkai, Mukuro watched as Hiei bad-temperedly kicked aside the ashes of the beast that had almost buried him. (It turned out that Hiei was actually slightly shorter than Mukuro's thumb _)

Though she was more than satisfied with the growth of Hiei's youki level – he had gone from a D-Class to a high B-Class in a matter of three months – the fire demon's **attitude** pissed her off. Manners? What **manners**? He wouldn't even call her 'mother', preferring to address her with 'oi', 'you', 'woman' or just get her attention with a simple 'hn'. When he was in a better mood, she was referred to as 'Mukuro' – no honorifics attached.

She'd tried to give her heir a good upbringing (i.e. she taught him to fight, kill, steal… huh? What morals?) and provide for him. 

She gave him a swing, which was totally ignored.

Doll's clothes were stolen from Ningenkai … Hiei started a bonfire with them just they were lacey and pink.

She gave him a doll's house to live in… Hiei tore down the purple curtains for use as towels, melted the plastic bed and fake fridge, then practiced his swordsmanship skills on the rest of the (plastic) furniture.

So she got a skilled youkai craftsman to make him a tiny bed from half a walnut shell… Hiei chopped it up for firewood.

K'so, that ungrateful **brat**. So what if the bed wouldn't stop rocking? It's supposed to rock, dammit! What was he expecting, **square** walnuts? Hell, the only gifts he appreciated was that exorbitantly expensive custom-made katana, that book on mastering Jaou Ensatsu Ken (The set of fighting techniques, not the fiery sword… it's kinda hard to tell the difference when it's written in Romanji) and his new name… 

          Actually, the stubborn Makai ruler had only relented when faced with her even more stubborn heir (who had threatened to kill himself rather than be stuck with 'Thumbelina' for the rest of his life). So, an irritated Mukuro named him after a Ningenkai mountain in a fit of twisted glee. Of course he protested… but wisely decided to compromise when she suggested changing it to 'Hieilina' (oh, the horror _)……

          "**JAOU ENSATSU KOKURYUUHA**!"  

          _Huh?!?!?!_

          Bits of falling debris pelted the kekkai as the dragon incinerated the last Makai beast before turning its attention to the arena walls. Mukuro gaped as she witnessed that part of her fortress crumbling like cookies as a result of Hiei's boredom. (That's right, Hiei. Use a bomb to kill ants.)

          "**HIEI~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!**"  

*~*

          A pair of small dark eyes observed the destruction going with much interest, unnoticed by the scurrying youkais and their furious leader. The eyes were focused on the tiny youkai responsible for the pandemonium in the fortress.

          _Hmm… That little youkai will make a nice bride for my brother._ (Excuse me? Hiei is nice? How so?! And did you say **bride**?) 

          The youkai gave an evil chuckle and left through the fortress's main gate. (Hey, stuff like that tend to go unnoticed when everyone in the fortress is trying to save their youkai butts from the dragon.)


End file.
